The Tennessee Titans were an absolute disaster on special teams throughout the 2024 season. The 3-14 Titans were pathetic in various areas, but none more glaring than the third phase of the game. First-year head coach Brian Callahan appointed a first-year special teams coordinator in Colt Anderson. It proved to be a giant mistake.
Callahan knew Anderson from their shared days together with the Cincinnati Bengals. Inexperience was evident throughout the decision-making process, with former general manager Ran Carthon also guilty of having a hand in a historically embarrassing mess. After releasing several special-teams-only players throughout final roster cuts, the Titans ended up with an inexperienced roster, and a debut coach incapable of correcting their errors.
The result was the worst special teams unit in the league, according to most metrics you can find. Fans were shocked when the regular season ended and Callahan didn’t announce Anderson’s firing. Now we know that’s because Callahan was plotting behind the scenes.
The Titans seemingly fired Anderson on Monday, appointing legendary special teams coordinator John “Bones” Fassel in his place, according to a bombshell report by Tom Pelissero.
The #Titans are hiring John “Bones” Fassel as their special teams coordinator, per sources. A big hire for Brian Callahan. pic.twitter.com/S5m6kdjHw2
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 20, 2025
Titans hire John "Bones" Fassel as new special teams coordinator
Fassel most recently coached special teams with the Dallas Cowboys. He joined Mike McCarthy in that role in 2020, but team owner Jerry Jones decided against renewing the contracts of the entire coaching staff. With Fassel available on the open market, Callahan struck quickly.
Fassel previously coached special teams for the Baltimore Ravens (2005-07), Las Vegas Raiders (2008-11), and Los Angeles Rams (2012-19). Under Fassel, the Cowboys ranked third, 10th, 10th, sixth, and seventh in special teams DVOA rankings, according to Zach Lyons. They ranked between sixth and 12th in Rick Gosselin's yearly special teams rankings.
This represents a massive hire for Callahan, and perhaps more importantly for Titans fans, highlights his willingness to admit a mistake and move forward. It was increasingly clear throughout the 2024 campaign that Anderson was ill-suited to be coaching special teams. Callahan deserves blame for making that hire to begin with, and sticking with it for the entire season, but his knack for self-evaluating and appointing a legendary coach to fix a historically worrisome problem deserves your applause.
NFL coaches are typically stubborn. They dig their heels in and rely on familiar relationships when hiring assistants. Callahan just displayed true growth by hiring an all-time mind in Fassel to hopefully fix an all-time problem.